As the Patriots' 2025 season began to heat up, so did the conversation surrounding Drake Maye's second-year rise to the point of him becoming the frontrunner to win MVP heading into the Week 18 finale game against the Dolphins.
The 23-year-old has been impressive since he got his first start in 2024, and has only exceeded expectations this year under a head coach and offensive coordinator. Maye is set to have one of the best second seasons of any quarterback in NFL history, and winning the coveted award, like many other legendary QBs have in the past, would really make this year even better.
There is still a lot of debate about whether he deserves it more than a veteran like Matthew Stafford, even if the stats clearly show that Maye should be the winner. But if you ask the UNC alum his opinion on the matter, he takes the humble route that only makes Patriots fans, and even those who don't care for New England, like him even more.
Drake Maye says all the right things about potentially winning MVP for the 2025 season
Besides wanting a quarterback to lead the Patriots to success since Tom Brady left in 2020, Patriots fans are beyond excited to have a humble and easy guy to root for, like Maye, under center for the foreseeable future.
Part of that is his team-first attitude, which has been highlighted even more this week after his comments that possibly winning MVP is more of a team award than an individual one.
“It’s just an honor. I’ve told everybody, said some things in the locker room: It’s us. It’s not just me. It’s us in that locker room. It’s really a team deal, I think. They say it’s a player, but I think wins help that. Obviously there’s been some great seasons around the league from a lot of players. It’s an honor, but at the same time we’ve got work to do.”
This can't be easy for Patriots haters to hear, because all they want is a reason to dislike the team more than they already do. But hearing comments like this from Maye and seeing how he seems like a genuinely good person make it nearly impossible to wish anything bad on him or the team.
Fortunately, Patriots fans are lucky to have a guy like Maye to root for, and these comments exemplify exactly the kind of player and leader that he is and will be for a long time.
He has the opportunity to lock up the award with another impressive performance at home on Sunday, and it would be great to see the regular season end with another win plus Maye winning such a significant award.